The Shannon Callows (Irish : Caladh na Sionainne) are areas of flat land along the shores of the River Shannon. These areas lie between Athlone in County Westmeath, where the river flows out of Lough Ree, and Portumna in County Galway, where it enters Lough Derg, in central Ireland. The shallow grade of the river here results in occasional flooding of the Callows. [1]
The Hiberno-English word "callow" is an anglicisation of the Irish word caladh, which means "flood-meadow". [1]
The Callows are a classified as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). [2] The Irish Wildlife Trust has a "callow reserve" on Bullock Island in County Offaly. [3] The SAC covers an area of 59 square kilometres (23 sq mi). [4]
Protection of the Callows is particularly important due to the many species of birds occurring on the Callows. Recorded are, amongst others, black-tailed godwit, corncrake, curlew, golden plover, lapwing, mute swan, redshank, common sandpiper, whooper swan and wigeon. Mammals recorded include American mink, fox and otter. Grazing of cattle keeps alder and willow from spreading. Sections of Callow at higher elevation and therefore less prone to flooding have a greater diversity of plants, in particular clover, creeping buttercup, cuckoo flower, marsh bedstraw, marsh marigold, meadow grass, meadowsweet, sedge and water mint. [5]
The area was one of the most important breeding areas for corncrakes in Ireland and the local farmers supported a project to mow the callows later in the summer to give the birds the chance to rear a second brood. However, the early summer flooding which became predominant stopped the corncrakes breeding at all, the corncrake being said to be the first bird to be extirpated from Shannon system due to climate change. The Callows also support 80% of the Irish population of whinchat. [1]
Ouse Washes is a linear 2,513.6-hectare (6,211-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest stretching from near St Ives in Cambridgeshire to Downham Market in Norfolk. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, a Special Protection Area for birds, a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. An area of 186 hectares between March and Ely is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and another area near Chatteris is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust manages another area near Welney.
BirdWatch Ireland (BWI) is a voluntary conservation organisation devoted to the conservation and protection of wild birds and their habitats in Ireland. It was formerly known as the Irish Wildbird Conservancy (IWC). Irish Wildbird Conservancy was founded in 1968, among others by Major Robert (Robin) Ruttledge, an Irish ornithologist who became its first president.
Banagher is a town in Ireland, located in the midlands, on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. The town had a population of 3,000 at the height of its economic growth in the mid-19th century. According to the 2022 census, its population was 1,907.
Carlingford Lough is a glacial fjord or sea inlet in northeastern Ireland, forming part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore is County Down, the Mourne Mountains, and the town of Warrenpoint; on its southern shore is County Louth, the Cooley Mountains and the village of Carlingford. The Newry River flows into the loch from the northwest.
Shannonbridge is a village located on the River Shannon, at the junction of the R444 and R357 regional roads in County Offaly, Ireland. It lies within the townland of Raghra, at the borders of counties Offaly, Galway and Roscommon, with the majority of the population living east of the bridge in County Offaly. As of the 2016 census, the village had a population of 175. There are two housing estates within the village. Its location along Ireland's largest river and its proximity to Clonmacnoise have contributed to tourism being a key contributor to the local economy. The village is flanked by a Special Area of Conservation – the Shannon Callows. The physical environment consists of the River Shannon, callows, boglands and the Esker Riada. The village has one of the oldest bridges still in use over the River Shannon, completed in 1757.
Coombe Hill Canal lies in the Vale of Gloucester, south west England, north of Leigh and runs west 2.75 miles (4.43 km) from Coombe Hill Basin to the River Severn near Wainlode Hill. It opened in 1796 and closed 80 years later in 1876, after the only lock was damaged by flooding. The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust purchased the Coombe Hill Canal nature reserve in 1985 and the area is managed by the trust. Adjacent to the Coombe Hill Canal is a large area of wet meadowland situated midway between Gloucester and Tewkesbury to the west of the A38, which was purchased by the trust in 1999. There is a north and a south meadow. This land and the Canal itself often flood in winter, which attracts hundreds of wildfowl.
Lough Ramor is a large natural lake of 741 hectares situated near Virginia, County Cavan. From early records Vita Tripartita identified as being in the territory of Cenal Muinreamhair. The literal meaning of the term Muinreamhair is 'fat-neck' and appears to be derived from a prehistoric or mythical ancestor warrior, connoting great strength. Loch Muinreamhair also appears in early manuscripts of the Four Masters.
Lough Oughter is a lake, or complex of lakes, in County Cavan covering more than 8,900 hectares. The complex of lakes lies on the River Erne, and forms the southern part of the Lough Erne complex. The lakes are bounded roughly by Belturbet in the north, Cavan town to the east, Crossdoney to the south and Killeshandra to the west.
Rahasane turlough is a turlough, west of Craughwell in southwest County Galway. It is the largest surviving turlough in Ireland.
Rathcabbin, often Rathcabban, is a village and electoral district in the northernmost part of County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located off the R489 regional road between Portumna, County Galway and Birr, County Offaly. It is 5 km (3 mi) east of the River Shannon and Lough Derg.
Lough Talt is a lake in the Ox Mountains of south County Sligo, Ireland. The lake is located between the villages of Tubbercurry and Bonniconlon on the R294 road. Lough Talt is part of the Lough Hoe Bog Special Area of Conservation, an area of montane bogland and oligotrophic lakes.
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Dromore, County Clare is a rural townland in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is located in the parish of Ruan and was formerly the location of Dromore House. Today, most of the townland is accounted for by Dromore Wood Nature Reserve. It is open to the public and also contains the ruins of Dromore Castle.
Callows are a type of wetland found in Ireland. They are a seasonally flooded grassland ecosystem found on low-lying river floodplains.
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Annaghmore Lough is a freshwater lake in the west of Ireland. It is located in County Roscommon in the catchment of the upper River Shannon.
Upper Ray Meadows is a 181-hectare nature reserve, managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, south of Marsh Gibbon in Buckinghamshire. It is composed of a number of areas, one of which, Long Herdon Meadow, is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
'Ballynafagh Lake is a Special Area of Conservation and wildfowl sanctuary in County Kildare, close to the town of Prosperous in County Kildare, Ireland. This site is also known as the Blackwood Reservoir, the Blackwood Lake or the Prosperous Reservoir.
The Rye Water Valley/Carton Special Area of Conservation or SAC is a Natura 2000 site based along the Rye Water / River Rye in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is protected as an SAC since November 2018 due to the presence of a rare hydrogeological habitat at a site close to the River Rye, and the presence of protected species.
The Four Roads Turlough Special Area of Conservation is a Natura 2000 site based at the village of Four Roads, Ireland, close to Roscommon town, in County Roscommon, Ireland. The Four Roads Turlough is one of a number of seasonal lakes, or turloughs, found in the karst areas of Ireland, west of the River Shannon.